Before the house is confiscated, the enemy's warehouse is emptied and exiled

"Well, Zhou Ding, please explain another drawing!"

Xiao Heng asked in a kind tone, his eyes revealing his expectation and trust in Zhou Ding.

"Okay! Your Majesty, this second drawing is relatively simpler.

It is mainly an improvement to the original structure of the city wall. By raising and widening it, the defensive power of the city wall can be further enhanced.

Furthermore, this diagram only requires setting up arrow towers on both sides of the city wall. This way, not only can we effectively resist foreign attacks, but we can also reduce project costs and shorten the construction period!"

As soon as Zhou Ding finished speaking, the officials present began to whisper to each other. They listened carefully to Zhou Ding's explanation and praised him highly.

Even Xiao Heng, who was sitting upright, couldn't hide the smile on his face. As he looked at Zhou Ding who was talking in front of him, the smile in his eyes deepened.

But he turned serious again and said in a deep voice:

"Hmm... very good! However, you haven't told me yet, if I were to build a 'city wall' according to your design, how much would it cost?

Also, how much money would it take to build the tower in the blueprint you have?"

Then, another official echoed:

"Yes, Zhou Ding, please quickly calculate this account for everyone! We must spend every penny wisely!

Currently, there is not enough silver left in our treasury!"

The person who spoke was Zhang Junshou, who had just been promoted to the rank of second-rank prime minister. He also looked at Zhou Ding with a worried look on his face.

The king has just completed the construction of the palace. Even if he has a considerable amount of private money, I think there is probably not much left.

Even if there had been many stolen moneys handed in by officials before this, it was impossible to invest all of this money in the construction of the city wall!

After all, there is still a series of preparatory work to be done, such as recruiting soldiers, purchasing weapons and armor, etc.

Otherwise, what would it matter even if the city walls were built magnificently?

Once a war breaks out, you can't win by relying on an empty city. You can't always use the empty city plan!

Just as Prime Minister Zhang said this, Xiao Heng and other ministers standing by turned their eyes to Zhou Ding.

In fact, Xiao Heng’s inner thoughts at this moment coincided with Prime Minister Zhang’s intentions.

Back then, when he was renovating the Lingnan Palace, he had boldly used some of the precious treasures that Shen Qingge had risked his life to bring out from the tomb of King Shang.

Although he always felt guilty about this matter, it was still an unexpected fortune.

Moreover, King Shang had done many unjust things during his lifetime, so he felt a little more at ease for the time being.

However, now, faced with such a huge project as building city walls in three counties at the same time according to the blueprint, if it is really put into practice, the cost will be extremely high.

So the question is, is the stolen money he had confiscated from officials enough?

What if it is not enough?

Spring is about to arrive and the annual spring plowing is around the corner. In addition, the Kingdom of Nanyue is also facing many important matters such as recruiting troops and recruiting talents.

Each of these items requires financial support, but where can we raise so much money?

Do I have to ask Shen Qingge for it like I did before?

Not to mention that he is the king of a country, even if he is just an ordinary man, it would be difficult for him to do such a thing!

Shen Qingge has already silently contributed so much to the people of Lingnan and himself. How could he shamelessly bother them again?

Therefore, if the cost is too high, even the best plan must be carefully considered and weighed repeatedly before deciding whether to adopt it.

When asked this key question, Zhou Ding also looked embarrassed.

He was well aware of the court's current predicament, so he had already taken this into consideration when drawing the design blueprints, but it didn't save much.

After pondering for a moment, he finally said:

“In fact, the main reason why the fortified city walls were expensive was that their height and width were greatly increased.

In terms of building materials, if you choose to use bricks and stones, it will cost at least five thousand taels of silver.

Of course, if rammed earth is mixed with other materials, the cost can indeed be reduced, but it is estimated to be around three thousand taels.

If we want to save more money, I'm afraid it will be difficult to ensure that the city wall is truly as solid as a rock and impregnable..."

After hearing this explanation, everyone was a little surprised at first.

However, after a little thought, they found that the price seemed to be within their affordable range and not as high as they had imagined.

Prime Minister Zhang frowned slightly, looking uneasy, and asked:

"So what about the '閣城'? Based on the topography of our three counties, there are definitely no fewer than ten places where '閣城' need to be built!"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Ding respectfully replied truthfully:

"Prime Minister Zhang, I have carefully calculated that if we use a mixture of rammed earth and bricks to build a 'city wall', it will cost at least 13,000 taels of silver."

"What if it were built entirely of bricks and stones?"

Zhou Ding hesitated for a moment before answering cautiously, "In that case, it would cost at least 20,000 taels of silver!"

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone present was shocked.

"Oh my God! The cost is so high!

Normally, we only build a section of the city wall for a mere one thousand taels of silver."

The ministers were whispering and discussing among themselves, all looking at Xiao Heng with difficulty, wanting to see what decision their king would make.

At this time, Xiao Heng was also very conflicted. He waved his hand gently, signaling Yun Yi beside him to unfold the map of the entire Lingnan area.

As the map slowly unfolded, a vast and detailed topographic map appeared before everyone.

Xiao Heng leaned over and stared at the map, his eyes moving along the winding border line, occasionally pausing at the locations marked where a city wall might need to be built.

Upon seeing this, Prime Minister Zhang also walked over quickly, bent down and approached the map, stretched out his fingers and began to count the places where the city walls needed to be built one by one, muttering to himself.

After some careful calculation, Prime Minister Zhang raised his head and said sadly:

"Your Majesty, according to my preliminary estimate, the entire Lingnan region covers an area of ​​approximately 8 million mu, and its border is nearly 1,500 kilometers long.

There are a total of thirteen places where urn cities need to be built.

Even if we implement it according to a relatively economical plan, the silver cost would probably be as high as 170,000 taels!"